Bitcoin’s price consolidation around the $84,000 level continues as the asset has failed to breakout in either direction over the past week or so, despite a few attempts.

Most altcoins sit quietly today, with little to no gains. PI has popped up by 9% after a recent landslide, while HYPE has surged by double digits.

BTC Calm at $84K

Last weekend went relatively quietly as BTC was stuck around the same level as now. The only exception came on Sunday evening after a whale opened a large short position, and BTC went up and down by about a grand.

The beginning of the business week was also quieter, aside from a price slump toward $81,000 on Tuesday. However, BTC bounced off and jumped to $83,000 ahead of the second FOMC meeting for the year. Once that concluded on Wednesday and the Fed refused to change the key interest rates, BTC experienced some more volatility around $83,000 and $85,000.

It went on the offensive later and spiked above $87,000 during the early morning Asian trading session. However, that was short-lived, and the asset slumped to $83,000 a day later.

It has returned to $84,000 since then as it prepares for another calm weekend. Its market cap has risen to $1.670 trillion on CG, while its dominance over the alts has declined to 58.3%.

PI Rebounds

Pi Network’s native token is among the poorest performers on a weekly scale, having dumped by over 30%. However, it finally saw some relief in the past 24 hours, as its price has returned to $1 after an 8-9% surge.

HYPE is the other notable gainer since yesterday, having jumped by 14-5%. It now trades above $16. In contrast, XRP, BNB, ADA, LEO, TON, and XLM are slightly in the red, while ETH, SOL, DOGE, and TRX have marked minor gains.

The total crypto market cap failed to overcome the $2.9 trillion mark and now sits about $30 billion below it on CG.

TL;DR

• The XRP army got the news it was waiting for earlier this week, as company CEO Brad Garlinghouse triumphantly announced the closure of Ripple’s legal case against the SEC.
• With such a big burden behind it, how high can XRP go? Here’s what ChatGPT had to say.

How High (XRP)?

The native token of the Ripple ecosystem skyrocketed in the months after the US elections on the hype that the local regulatory landscape would change, and its legal case against the SEC, which continued for over four years, could come to a favorable closure for the company.

As with many other similar events that are highly anticipated by the community, the asset’s value rose ahead of the actual development in what is known as a ‘buy-the-rumor‘ rally. Although XRP spiked by double-digits after Garlinghouse’s announcement, it quickly lost momentum, and it’s currently 1% down on a weekly scale.

However, there could be long-term implications for XRP, especially if the SEC clears its name and even classifies it as a commodity, as recent reports claimed. Consequently, we decided to ask ChatGPT about XRP’s price potential in the following months (and maybe years) after the end of this big battle.

In terms of a price target for 2025, the popular AI chatbot highlighted a range between $5 and $7. This would require XRP to break its 2018 all-time high and even double its price from then to tap the bigger mark.

Although this sounds promising and slightly unlikely given the current market conditions, ChatGPT brought an even more bullish scenario, which could see XRP rise to $10-$15 within the next 18 months. There’s also an extreme case, which foresees a surge to $20-$30.

What Could Drive Such Mindblowing Rallies?

The AI solution noted that the main drivers behind such notable (and perhaps far-fetched) price increases are as follows:

• Wider adoption of Ripple’s XRPL ledger and XRP token to be used for cross-border payments and whale accumulation.
• Increased institutional confidence and adoption, which could be enhanced after the lawsuit’s end.
• Potential ETF approval in the States – there are several such filings with the local regulator, and the chances for a green light went up exponentially after Garlinghouse’s announcement.
• Major partnerships for Ripple – the ending of the case could mean that more big names are open to working with Ripple and signing lucrative collaborations.
• A global pivot toward blockchain-based settlements where XRPL could be a leader.
• XRP to become a “bridge asset for CBDCs or international remittances at scale.” – concluded ChatGPT.

Obviously, many (if not all) of those factors have to align for XRP to surge to any of the aforementioned targets, which, at the moment, doesn’t seem too likely. However, the landscape in crypto can change just as quickly as it did in the past few months, and XRP has already proven that it could registered triple-digit price surges in a very short period of time.

South Korean financial authorities are considering imposing sanctions on several crypto exchanges that have failed to comply with local regulations.

According to a report from local media Korea Economic Daily, the crypto exchanges include BitMEX, KuCoin, CoinW, Bitunix, and KCEX.

S. Korea to Sanction Crypto Exchanges

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of South Korea’s Financial Services Commission said these overseas crypto trading platforms are operating illegally in the country because they have failed to report as Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) under the Specific Financial Information Act.

The Special Financial Transactions Act states that entities engaging in crypto trading, storage, and management in South Korea must formally report their activities to the FIU. Failure to do so could attract criminal punishment and administrative sanctions because the firms will be considered illegal businesses.

In addition, these exchanges have been operating Korean-language websites without providing marketing and customer support for South Korean investors. As a result, the FIU is now investigating their activities, evaluating appropriate procedures with relevant organizations, and strongly considering measures like blocking site access.

“We are currently reviewing blocking access to unreported overseas exchanges that are providing services to domestic investors through consultation with the Korea Communications Standards Commission. We are organizing damage cases and related data to strengthen communication between authorities, and we expect to see tangible measures taken within this year,” stated an FIU official.

A Continuous Crackdown on Crypto Platforms

This is not the first time financial authorities in South Korea have made moves to sanction or block investor access to non-compliant crypto exchanges. In September 2021, the FIU asked more than 60 exchanges that could not meet up with the local anti-money laundering (AML) rules and registration requirements to shut down their services and exit the country.

At the time, only four trading platforms, including Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit, were fully operational, while about 28 others, which obtained security certificates, could offer certain services without won settlements.

Furthermore, in 2022, the FIU asked the Korea Communications Standards Commission to block access to 16 overseas exchanges that failed to report their operations as VASPs. The regulatory agency also joined forces with local card companies to block crypto purchases and payment services made from these platforms.

Earlier this year, the FIU revealed there are only 31 registered crypto firms in South Korea, down 26% from 42 in 2024. With the latest crackdown, that number is bound to shrink even further.